Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4 MK2 manual

Manual[...]

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu- ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded,[...]

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Table of Contents 1 Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! ........................................................ 11 1.1 What Is TRAKTOR KONTROL S4? .................................................................................................. 11 1.2 The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Documentation ...................................................[...]

4.2.6 Interlude: In Case the Left Track Is Over .................................................................... 35 4.2.7 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter ............................................ 36 4.2.8 Doing Everything by Hand ..........................................................................................[...]

4.8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 66 4.8.2 Who’s the Master? ..................................................................................................... 68 4.8.3 Other Useful Tools for Synching ...............................................[...]

6.1.2 Mixer .......................................................................................................................... 100 6.1.3 FX Units ..................................................................................................................... 101 6.1.4 Loop Recorder ......................................................[...]

6.4.1 Mixer Overview ........................................................................................................... 132 6.4.2 The Main Section ....................................................................................................... 132 6.4.3 The Channels and the Crossfader ................................................[...]

7 Customizing TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 ............................................................................ 160 7.1 The Preferences Window ............................................................................................................. 160 7.2 Settings and Preferences for the S4 Control Elements ......................................[...]

9.2.5 Using the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 with a Laptop ......................................................... 188 9.3 Loose Jog Wheel Top Plate .......................................................................................................... 188 9.4 TRAKTOR Crashes ..............................................................................[...]

1 Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! We are delighted that you have chosen TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! 1.1 What Is TRAKTOR KONTROL S4? TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is a fully integrated hardware and software DJ performance system created by the makers of TRAKTOR. TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 fuses the full-featured TRAK- TOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller with the st[...]

First read the Setup Guide. Then proceed with this TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual to get more familiar with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual After having read the Setup Guide and followed its instructions, your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system should be up and running. The next step is to read this TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Man- ual. The TRAKTOR KONTROL [...]

▪ Chapter ↑ 4, Tutorials is a selection of tutorials focused on your controller. They will let you progressively discover how to use the various tools provided by TRAKTOR KON- TROL S4. These practical examples will simplify the learning process and get you quickly started with computer-based DJing. ▪ Chapter ↑ 5, Using the S4 with TRAKTOR D[...]

This light bulb icon indicates that a note contains useful extra information. This informa- tion may often help you to solve a task more efficiently, but does not necessarily apply to the setup or operating system you are using; however, it's always worth a look. Furthermore, the following formatting is used: ▪ Text appearing in (drop-down) [...]

To check the compatibility with several operating systems, please have a look at: http:// www.native-instruments.com/compatibility Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! System Requirements Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 15[...]

2 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview This mini-chapter will quickly introduce you to TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s main areas and con- cepts, both on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller and in the TRAKTOR soft- ware. Take the time to read these few pages, as they will familiarize you with the way TRAK- TOR KONTROL S4 works and let you catch sight of the [...]

Hardware controller and software side by side. ▪ ( 1 ) Decks : TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with four virtual Decks. The Decks are the place where tracks, Samples and live input are played back. The Decks can be seen as the virtual equivalent to the good old vinyl or CD decks—just with a bunch of powerful additional features and the flexibil[...]

▪ ( 2 ) FX Units : The signals coming from the Decks can be further processed by two FX Units located at the top of your hardware and software interface. You can even activate two ad- ditional FX Units in the software, allowing you to process each Deck individually. The FX Units give you access to the whole collection of high-quality FX included [...]

3 Importing Your Music Most likely you already have a collection of music files on your computer. For those of you who can’t wait for mixing their own tracks, this chapter is for you! You will learn here how to quickly import your music into the powerful Track Collection of TRAKTOR. If you prefer to start learning how to use TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 ri[...]

To make use of the Track Collection, you have to populate it by importing your music files. 3.2 Importing Music Folders TRAKTOR offers an easy import function for tracks stored on your hard drive: ► Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the Track Collection entry in the Browser Tree and choose Import Music Folders from the menu. The[...]

2. Click Add… at the bottom of the Music Folders section. 3. Navigate to a folder you want to add. 4. Confirm with OK . Repeat to add all of your Music Folders. Subfolders are automatically included in the scan. Hence, you don’t need to add them to this list. 3.3 Tracks Managed by iTunes If you have organized your music collection with iTunes, [...]

▪ Any of the jog wheels: ▪ Any of the Loop MOVE encoders, located below each jog wheel: ▪ The BROWSE encoder, located beneath the MAIN knob in the center of the device. Importing Your Music Tracks Managed by iTunes Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 22[...]

▪ The CUE buttons, located on each channel of the Mixer, Please do the following: 1. Push the BROWSE button to enter Browse mode. On your computer screen, the Browser fills up the whole TRAKTOR window. 2. Turn the Loop MOVE encoders to scroll through the Browser Tree until the iTunes icon gets selected, then push the encoder to open that node. 3.[...]

2. Select the tracks to import into the Track Collection. 3. Drag the selection onto the Track Collection icon in the Browser Tree. 4. Alternatively right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the selection and choose Import to Collection in the contextual menu. 3.3.3 Importing iTunes Playlists You can directly import iTunes playlists as TR[...]

4 Tutorials This chapter will guide you through the most common tasks that you will encounter during your work with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. The tutorials are workflow-oriented. They start with the simplest tasks and progressively lead you to more complex operation, helping you to get more and more familiar with your TRAK- TOR KONTROL S4 system. After r[...]

→ Your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is now reset to the factory settings. The tutorials presented here assume that TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is in its default factory state. If it’s not the case, we cannot guarantee that you will experience what we describe here, and you might miss important things to know! 4.1.1 Quick Loading a Track Let’s load the track “[...]

Release SHIFT and turn the BROWSE encoder to scroll through the Playlist and navigate to the track House 1 . 2. Once the track is highlighted, press the LOAD button on the left Deck to load that track on to Deck A. → The track is loaded. In TRAKTOR, its waveform and info appear on Deck A: The LOAD button on the right Deck of your S4 would have lo[...]

4.1.2 Playing the Track ► Once the track is loaded, simply press the PLAY button at the bottom of the left Deck: → The track starts playing. The PLAY button lights up and the waveform starts moving in TRAKTOR. Again, pressing the PLAY button on the right Deck would have started the playback on Deck B. To Each Deck Its Own Channel The audio play[...]

The Channel A. At this point you will hear some audio coming through your speakers or PA. If not, please check the following section. 4.1.3 If You Don’t Hear the Track If the track is playing on the Deck but the audio coming through your amplification system is not loud enough, or if there is no sound at all, check the following: ▪ At the botto[...]

▪ Above, the channel fader should be raised on channel A: ▪ The channel meter (the vertical bar of LEDs along the channel fader, see picture above) should show some activity. If not, check that the HI , MID , LOW and FILTER knobs higher up on that channel are set to center position; at the top of the channel, push the GAIN encoder once to reset[...]

Prerequisites We assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorial (see ↑ 4.1, Playing Your First Track ). TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state: ▪ The track “House 1” is loaded on Deck A. The track is playing and audible. ▪ The crossfader is all the way to the left. 4.2.1 Cueing a Second Track Dir[...]

7. By turning the BROWSE encoder, you can seek through the track and cue other parts of the track. 8. To unload the track from the Preview Player, press the PREVIEW button again. → You get back to the list browsing. You can select another track for cueing or load the de- sired track on a Deck. 4.2.2 Loading and Playing the Second Track We will ch[...]

The CUE button on channel B. ► On your S4, press the CUE button on the channel B. → The button lights up, indicating that Deck B is now sent to the CUE channel, which you will hear in your headphones. At any time, use the CUE MIX knob nearby to adjust the balance between the cued track (Deck B) and the main mix (Deck A) in your headphones: turn[...]

By slowly turning the CUE MIX knob on the front panel, you will hear the second track come into the mix in sync with Deck A. Note that you should always adjust the tempo of the track that is not audible to the audience! 4.2.5 Setting a Cue Point as Starting Point You will probably want to have more control over which particular part of the track yo[...]

The SNAP button and indicator on the Master Display. With Snap mode on, any point you set in the track will snap to the closest beat, thus ensuring that you get directly to that beat next time that you jump to that point. Aligning the Tracks Aligning both tracks is straightforward: 1. Make sure that Deck B is playing (its PLAY button must be lit). [...]

4.2.7 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter Now would be a great time to audition some of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s EQs and filters: The EQ and FILTER knobs on channel B. ► Turn any of the EQ or FILTER knobs on channel B to hear the effect on the cued track. The EQs and filters are excellent tools for making adjustments to tracks be[...]

3. When both tracks are running together and you want to bring the bass back in, gradually decrease the bass amount of channel A while simultaneously increasing that of channel B. 4. Complete the transition by gradually moving the crossfader all the way to the right. → You just did your first mix with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! 4.2.8 Doing Everything by[...]

Adjusting the Tempo The tempo for each Deck can be manually controlled via the TEMPO fader: Use the TEMPO fader to adjust the Deck’s tempo. ► Adjust the TEMPO fader on the left Deck until the track’s BPM either “sounds right,” or directly matches the value of the other track’s BPM, which is displayed at the top of Deck B in TRAKTOR. Man[...]

Use the jog wheel to manually seek through the track. 1. On the left Deck, press and spin the jog wheel’s top plate to seek through the track. (You can also fast seek through the track by holding the SHIFT button at the bottom of the Deck while spinning the jog wheel.) 2. Once you have found an interesting point for cueing (let’s say a downbeat[...]

► On the left Deck, move the jog wheel’s outer rim in the desired direction to temporarily bend the tempo and adjust the phase in order to cancel any minor offset. → Your tracks now perfectly match. Note that this can also be useful when using TRAKTOR’s Sync feature. Indeed, in some situations, the automatic beat detection might need a slig[...]

▪ By using the full dynamic range available, you keep the noise level low relative to your mix. As a result, all the details of your music are better rendered. ▪ When a signal is clipping, it is not getting louder, just worse. The loud parts (typically the beats) are cut, which both reduces the dynamic range and introduces distortion in your mi[...]

A GAIN encoder sits at the top of each channel. ► Adjust the channel’s GAIN encoder so that the level displayed on the channel meter stays in the upper part of the blue area without reaching the orange LED. Note that the channel’s EQ and filter settings also affect the signal level, as well as the possi- ble FX Unit(s) it is assigned to. Henc[...]

The Main section on your S4. In this section, The LED meters show the actual level being output from the device. So, when the MAIN LEVEL knob is turned down, these meters will go down too. These meters do not mirror what is seen in TRAKTOR PRO, although though the clip LEDs will still light on the S4MK2 when TRAKTOR clips. Adjust the MAIN knob in T[...]

4.4 Looping and Cueing Now that you have learned the basic mixing tasks, we will focus on one of TRAKTOR KON- TROL S4’s great features: its looping facilities. Prerequisites As always, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials. TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state: ▪ The track “House 1” [...]

The loop size will correspond to the number on the Deck Display just above the Loop SIZE en- coder: The Loop SIZE Display. ► To change the size of the Loop, just turn the same Loop SIZE encoder until the display reads the number of beats you’d like the Loop to be. Note that you can adjust the loop size either before or after you’ve set the Lo[...]

Moving a Loop You can also quickly move the active Loop across your track by using the Loop MOVE encoder, at the left of the Loop section: The Loop MOVE encoder. ► To move the Loop, turn the Loop MOVE encoder. The size of the move also corresponds to the loop size that is currently set, as displayed above the Loop SIZE encoder. Turning the Loop M[...]

Deactivating Looping If you want to deactivate the current Loop, do the following: ► To deactivate looping, push either of the Loop MOVE or Loop SIZE encoder. → The playback continues after the Loop. By pushing the Loop MOVE encoder when there is no Loop currently active, you activate looping: the next Loop in the track will be activated. 4.4.2[...]

► To clear a Hotcue, hold down the SHIFT button and press the corresponding Hotcue but- ton. → You can see that the button is no longer lit. Creative Uses of Hotcues Hotcues aren’t just bookmarks to particular sections of a track—they can also be used for crea- tive techniques such as remixing parts of a song, beat juggling effects, etc. As[...]

The Remix Deck C with a Sample loaded in the upper Sample Cell of the first Sample Slot.. You can also use the Remix Decks to build new tracks on the fly, layering One-shot Samples and Loops on top of each other. Now let’s find out how to control the Remix Decks with your S4. In case you were using Sample Decks in an earlier TRAKTOR version, don&[...]

4.5.1 Loading a Sample from the Collection You can load Samples directly from your Track Collection. This will give us the opportunity to try the Browse mode on your S4 controller: this mode allows you to browse your whole comput- er for tracks and Samples. The PREVIEW button. 1. Push the BROWSE encoder in the middle of the S4 to enter Browse mode.[...]

▪ In TRAKTOR, the Remix Deck C now holds the Sample in the upper Sample Cell of the first Sample Slot. ▪ On your S4, the corresponding Sample Play button is now dimmed, indicating that the Sample Slot holds a Sample which is not audible (yet). 4.5.2 Triggering the Sample Triggering the Sample is as simple as pressing the dimmed Sample Play butt[...]

The Remix Deck C with the Advanced Panel on bottom. On the lower right you can see the cursor pointing on the Play Type button, which switches the Sample Cell from One-shot to Loop mode and vice versa. ► Click on the Play Type button in the lower right of the Advanced Panel (see screenshot above) to switch the Sample to One-shot mode if you wish.[...]

3. On the same Deck, press an unlit Sample Play button — let’s say the Sample Play button 1. → This automatically captures the current Loop playing on Track Deck B, and copies it into the upper Sample Cell of the first Sample Slot on Remix Deck D: We just exported the active Loop from Deck B to the upper Sample Cell of Deck D's first Sam[...]

The Sample Play buttons offer you the same playback controls as described earlier (press to unmute/mute the Sample, SHIFT + press to stop it and skip to start next time it's activated, SHIFT + press again to unload). As previously described, you can switch the Sample Play Type between Loop and One-shot mode (see ↑ 4.5.2, Triggering the Sampl[...]

▪ The jog wheel allows tempo bending (outer rim) and scratching (top plate) of the Remix Deck including all Sample Slots. ▪ The Hotcue button under each Sample Play button will also function as a Play and Cap- ture button. As a shortcut, if the Sample is already playing, the Hotcue button will retrig- ger the Sample. ▪ For any playing Sample,[...]

An FX Unit on the S4. Prerequisites As always, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials. TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state: ▪ The track “Techno 2” is loaded on Deck B. The track is playing and audible. ▪ The Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left[...]

1. Hold the SHIFT button and press the FX On button (at the far left of the FX Unit) to load the three default effects: You now have the Delay, the Reverb, and the Filter loaded. 2. Choose which of the three loaded effects you want to activate by pressing the correspond- ing FX Buttons 1 - 3 . Of course, you can use all three effects together—sim[...]

The FX Assign buttons on each channel. Let’s assign the FX Unit 1 to Deck B: 1. Press the left FX Assign button (labeled “1”) on channel B to assign Deck B to the FX Unit 1. 2. Slowly turn the DRY/WET knob clockwise to bring in the FX. → You now hear the track on Deck B being processed by the FX Unit 1. You can assign other channels to the [...]

1. Hold SHIFT and press the FX Button 1 repeatedly to scroll through all available FX until the Gater is selected in the first slot of the FX Unit 1 in TRAKTOR. 2. If the first FX slot is currently deactivated, press the FX Button 1 to activate it (the button must be lit). → You hear the Gater cutting the audio at regular intervals. You might wan[...]

4. On channel B, press the right FX Assign button (labeled “2”) to assign Deck B to this FX Unit as well. You can deactivate the left FX Assign button on that channel if you want to hear the new FX more distinctly. The FX Knobs 1 - 3 and the FX Buttons 2 and 3 will give you access to each of the advanced parameters for that FX. At any time, you[...]

The Loop Recorder on your S4. You could, for example, capture the signal from the microphone input on the S4, record your scratching in real-time, or just record a few bars of a particular track while tweaking the FX settings. Prerequisites One more time, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tuto- rials. TRAKTOR[...]

4.7.1 Choosing a Source The Loop Recorder can capture the input from several sources. In TRAKTOR, you can choose the desired source by clicking on the Source menu—the drop-down menu directly under the Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob: The Loop Recorder’s Source menu in TRAKTOR. In this menu, you have following choices: ▪ Main will record TRAKTO[...]

► Press the SIZE button on the S4 repeatedly to cycle through loop record sizes (in bars). You can see the current loop size in the software at the top of the Loop Recorder. For our ex- ample, we’ll choose a loop of 4 bars: The selected loop size is displayed in the software. Starting the Recording Now do the following: 1. Cut the low and mid f[...]

The Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob. You can stop and start again the recorded loop by using the PLAY button. By doing this, you’ll notice the following: ▪ The Loop Recorder always stays in sync with the Deck B, which is our current tempo ref- erence—we say “tempo master” (for more info on tempo references, check the tutorial in section ?[...]

4.7.3 Overdubbing You can also dub over the current recorded loop, building additional recorder layers on the fly. To do this: 1. Press the REC button while the Loop Recorder is already playing an existing loop, and press REC again to exit overdubbing. The new audio will then be added to the existing loop. 2. If you don’t like the overdub, just h[...]

4.8 Synchronization It is now time to give a closer look at the advanced synchronization features offered by TRAK- TOR. Once you will get more familiar with them, you will be able to use these powerful tools to build rich and complex mixes. 4.8.1 Introduction In the previous tutorials, we have already seen TRAKTOR’s synchronization facilities man[...]

▪ A Track Deck can provide the tempo and the beats from the track that is currently play- ing. The Beatgrid So that a Track Deck can provide reliable tempo and beats, these must be precisely deter- mined in the loaded track—if not, the “reference” wouldn’t make any sense. Therefore, tracks must first be analyzed beforehand by TRAKTOR in o[...]

4.8.2 Who’s the Master? You can build your mix using various Deck setups: you can mix with two Track Decks only, or make use of the lower Remix Decks (default setup), or even replace the Remix Decks with an- other two Track Decks. Depending on your preferred way of DJing and Deck setup, you will have different needs and perspectives for choosing [...]

1. Stop any playing Deck. On the Master Display of your S4, the MASTER button and indicator light up, indicating that the Clock currently is the tempo master: 2. Load two tracks on Deck A and B. 3. Start the playback on Deck A. Deck A now is the tempo master: the MASTER indicator in the Master Display turns back off, whereas the MASTER indicator on[...]

1. In TRAKTOR’s Clock panel, deactivate the AUTO button. 2. Set the Clock as tempo master, whether by activating the MASTER button in the Clock panel, or by pressing the MASTER button on the Master Display of your S4 (in the middle of the Mixer). The Clock panel should now looks like this: The Master Display on your S4 should now look like this: [...]

▪ The Snap mode ensures that any Loop or Cue Point you set in a track will snap to the closest beat. ▪ The Quantize mode ensures that any jump you make within the track will retain the phase sync—may you jump to a Loop, a Cue Point or a beat. Both Snap and Quantize modes can be enabled/disabled directly from your S4 by pressing the correspond[...]

1. Load two tracks with quite different tempos on Deck A and B. 2. Start the playback on both Decks and synchronize Deck B to Deck A. You can clearly hear how the tone of the track on Deck B changed. 3. Now press SHIFT + PLAY on the right Deck of your S4. This activates the Keylock on that Deck. → The tone of the track gets back to its original v[...]

5 Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is designed to work with the TRAKTOR DJ app on iOS devices. In this section we will describe the S4's key functions when using it with the TRAKTOR DJ app. The iOS devices referred to here are the iPad, iPhone and the iPod touch. The iPhone app is known as TRAKTOR DJ for iPhone. The S4 is cu[...]

5.1.1 Browsing & Loading Tracks Follow the below tutorial to quickly familiarize yourself with how to use the S4 to browse through your music collection in TRAKTOR DJ and load tracks accordingly. 1. Press the BROWSE encoder to reveal the music file tree in TRAKTOR DJ. Here your music will be categorized into either Songs , Playlists , Artists ,[...]

5.1.2 Quantize Functions Located in the center of the S4 device beneath the BROWSE encoder, the QUANT button al- lows you to toggle through TRAKTOR DJs Quantize Size settings. The smaller the quantize size you select relates to how quickly from pressing a HotCue button will trigger. The 1/4 beat set- ting being the smallest available size. By press[...]

The Mixer section of the S4, and the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ Equalizer section. In TRAKTOR DJ, Deck A is located at the top, and Deck B found below. In TRAKTOR DJ for the iPhone, the deck view slider indicates that Deck A is located at the top and B at the bottom. 5.1.4 Adjusting Channel Gain The channel GAIN encoders are located at the top of the[...]

5.1.5 Using EQs When you move one of the S4's EQ knobs on either of Channels A or B , the corresponding ef- fect can be observed via TRAKTOR DJ's Equalizer section. To reveal the Equalizer display of a TRAKTOR DJ Deck using the S4: ► Press FX button 2, located at either the top of channel A or B . → The Equalizer drawer will be reveal[...]

5.1.6 Using the Filters The S4's FILTER encoders located on Channels A & B can be used to apply the Filter effect to a TRAKTOR DJ Deck. Moving one of these FILTER encoders from its 12 o'clock position ini- tiates the Filter function in TRAKTOR DJ. TRAKTOR DJ's Filter engaged symbol. To reveal the Filter display of TRAKTOR DJ: ►[...]

Turning Channel A's FILTER anti-clockwise to initiate a LPF Filter, and the corresponding Filter movement along the X Axis in TARKTOR DJ. 5.1.7 Headphone Cueing The CUE VOL knob located on the front panel of the S4 adjusts the volume levels of the head- phone output. The CUE MIX knob determines whether you hear the main mix only, the cue chann[...]

2. Click the play button on both Decks to begin playback. 3. Turn the CUE MIX knob to the center position. 4. Set the headphone volume to a comfortable level by adjusting the CUE VOL knob. 5. With the channel faders up, move the crossfader back and forth to hear one track, then the other. 6. Move the crossfader all the way to channel A so that you [...]

5.1.8 Deck Control An S4 Jog Wheel. You can use the S4's jog wheels to scratch, find cue points, manually adjust a tracks tempo, rewind, and seek or search through a track. Seek through a Track You can seek through a track playing in TRAKTOR DJ by: 1. Pressing and spinning a Jog Wheel's top plate, you can seek through a track (to find a n[...]

Note that you can also stop the playback (by pressing the PLAY button) before you seek an in- teresting point with the Jog Wheel. Once you have found the point, you can release the Jog Wheel—since the Deck is not playing, you won’t lose the point. When a downbeat arrives in the other track, press PLAY again on the left Deck. Stripe Navigation W[...]

Using the Tempo Faders The S4 allows you to control the tempo of a track/s playing in TRAKTOR DJ by manually ad- justing the Track Deck's tempo. Adjusting the tempo of the currently playing track's tempo ad- justs the global tempo of TRAKTOR DJ. By default, the track playing will play at the currently selected tempo setting of the Tempo f[...]

▪ Hotcues ▪ Loop Functions ▪ Move Functions ▪ Deck Sync (& BeatGrid Mode) functions ▪ Flux mode functions This section will take you through the functions of each button in the transport section. You will also learn how the RGB buttons behave when using the TRAKTOR DJ app. 5.2.1 PLAY buttons Pressing either of the PLAY buttons will to[...]

When using TRAKTOR DJ, there are occasions when a Deck is in a Half-Sync state. This is when the BPMs of the Decks match, but the phase alignment does not. For example: ▪ With two tracks playing, scratching one of the Jog Wheels (without a FLUX button engag- ed) and releasing out of time. ▪ With two tracks playing in Sync, and using Cue points [...]

5.2.5 Hotcue Buttons The Hotcue buttons are numbered 1-4 on each transport area of the S4. These RGB backlit buttons directly reflect TRAKTOR's cue button coloring: ▪ Blue: Cue point ▪ Green: Loop ▪ Yellow: Load ▪ Orange: Fade In/Out ▪ White: Grid Marker TRAKTOR DJ will save the BeatGrid location as a Hotcue; this is why many tracks [...]

5.2.6 Using Loops You can use the S4 to perform Loop functions in TRAKTOR DJ by either manually engaging the LOOP IN / OUT buttons, or by selecting a loop size with the Loop encoder and pressing to engage. Triggering a loop in TRAKTOR DJ using the Loop Encoder. Storing Loops Using the S4 When you find those perfect sections of your tracks to loop, [...]

1. Trigger a loop on your chosen deck, using either the Loop encoder or manually via the LOOP IN/OUT buttons. 2. Press the MOVE encoder to engage TRAKTOR DJ's Loop Slicer mode. → You will notice that TRAKTOR DJ now converts the selected loop into slices. Hotcue but- tons 1-4 on the corresponding S4 transport section will now be backlit green[...]

5.2.7 Using the MOVE Encoders The MOVE encoders serve a number of purposes when used with TRAKTOR DJ. The default mode of these encoders allows you Beatjump forwards or backwards in a track, according to the size of the loop display. Turning to the left moves backwards in the track, whereas to the right forward. Waveform Zoom Pressing SHIFT + rotat[...]

Freeze mode takes the currently viewed section of the track playing, and allows you to trigger individual sections as cue points. These Freeze Mode cue points can be a section of a track, or down to a smaller component such as a hi-hat. Triggering HotCue button 2 whilst in Freeze Mode. The scale of the Freeze Mode section and individual cue section[...]

Holding SHIFT + turning the MOVE encoder to adjust TRAKTOR DJ's viewing scale. When in Freeze Mode, turning the MOVE encoder can be used to move around the assign- ments. ► Turning the MOVE encoder, will move the Freeze assignments by the group size of assign- ments. Press and rotating the MOVE encoder moves the assignments by one assignment[...]

5.3.1 Reveal a Deck's Effect Display You can use the S4 to reveal a Deck's Effect display in TRAKTOR DJ by: ► Pressing FX button 1, located at the top of channel section A or B. → The effects display of TRAKTOR DJ will be revealed for the corresponding Deck. You will notice that the top of this Effects display contains three effects. [...]

Triggering and Controlling an Effect Pressing any of the S4's FX buttons ( 1 - 3 ) (located in the FX 1 or FX 2 sections) will engage the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ effect. When a button is pressed, you will notice that it illumi- nates orange. Within the Effects display of TRAKTOR DJ, the corresponding FX bank will also be highlighted orange. F[...]

1. Now turn FX knob 1 all the way to the right. → You will hear the amount of the Delay Effect increasing and observe that the Effects Dis- play moves to diagonally as both the Effect parameter moves to the both along the X axis and up the Y axis. 1. Now turn both of these knobs to the left. You will hear the amount of the effect applied lessens.[...]

→ All three FX buttons are now illuminated orange, and you will now hear that the track playing is affected by 3 of TRAKTOR DJ's effects. 1. Moving the DRY/WET knob will now control all three of the selected effect variables along TRAKTOR DJ's Y axis. Saving a Group of Effects When using TRAKTOR DJ's effects in your DJ sessions, if[...]

6 Hardware Reference This chapter details all you can do with your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller. After a quick introduction to the main areas on your S4 and to their underlying concepts, we will give a thorough description of each and every control element on your S4. In this chapter, we describe actions on the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. Of course, every[...]

A Deck on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller. Hardware Reference Areas and Concepts Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 97[...]

The equivalent control elements on a Track Deck in TRAKTOR. The two Decks on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 allow you to control the four software Decks (labeled A, B, C and D) available in TRAKTOR: ▪ The left Deck on your S4 can control the upper Deck A and lower Deck C in the software. ▪ The right Deck on your S4 can control the upper Deck B and low[...]

Both left and right Decks also provide a SHIFT button ( 9 ): when held depressed, this button modifies the function of many other control elements (see section ↑ 6.3.2, SHIFT Buttons: Ac- cessing Secondary Functions for more info). Many control elements on the Decks can have their function customized in order to fit your specific needs and habits[...]

6.1.2 Mixer The Mixer is sitting in the middle of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller and of TRAK- TOR’s window. The Mixer on the S4 controller and in TRAKTOR. Hardware Reference Areas and Concepts Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 100[...]

The Mixer receives on its four channels ( 1 ) the audio signals coming from the four Decks de- scribed above. There is one channel for each Deck. Hence, channels are labeled from A to D according to their corresponding Deck. As any DJ mixer, the Mixer’s purpose basically is to adjust the relative level of each channel, to control the channels’ [...]

The FX Unit 1 in TRAKTOR. By default, two FX Units are active. Both FX Unit 1 and FX Unit 2 can be freely assigned to any of the channels A-D. On the hardware side, the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 also provides you with two FX Units (la- beled FX1 and FX2 on your controller), which allow you to control the corresponding FX Units in the software. You will fi[...]

The Loop Recorder on your S4. The Loop Recorder in TRAKTOR. The Loop Recorder allows you to instantly create loops whether coming from the Mixer’s mas- ter signal, from a particular Deck or from a physical audio input. As soon as the loop is record- ed, it is automatically triggered. You can then blend between the loop playing in the Loop Re- cor[...]

6.1.5 Front and Rear Panels The front and rear panel of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 contain controls and connectors re- lated to the physical inputs and outputs of your controller. They are extensively described in sec- tion ↑ 6.8, The Rear Panel and ↑ 6.9, The Front Panel . 6.2 Types of Control Elements Your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 holds various types [...]

The SHIFT Buttons Instead of triggering any function themselves, the SHIFT buttons (one on each Deck) modify the behavior of other control elements on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, giving you access to some secondary functions. For more info on the SHIFT buttons, please refer to section ↑ 6.3.2, SHIFT Buttons: Ac- cessing Secondary Functions . 6.2.2 K[...]

Additionally, encoders have a “push” action available: pushing the encoder can trigger some other function. 6.2.4 Jog Wheels A jog wheel on your S4. Functionally speaking, the two jog wheels are quite similar to the encoders described above: they have an endless rotary movement (here continuous) and an additional push action availa- ble on thei[...]

This makes the jog wheel a versatile element that gives you a very precise control, e.g. for scratching, seeking in a track, or browsing in lists. 6.2.5 Faders A fader on your S4. Faders are linear control elements with limited range. All of them set absolute values, with the possible exception of the TEMPO faders (see ↑ 6.3.7, Tempo Fader ). 6.2[...]

6.2.7 Switches A switch. Switches are only available on the rear panel. They control a few basic options needed when setting your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 up. 6.2.8 Sockets The RCA main output sockets on the rear panel of your S4. Sockets are to be found on the rear and front panels only. They allow you to plug various types of cables (USB, audio, MIDI, [...]

6.3.1 Deck Flavors and Structure As described in section ↑ 6.1.1, Decks , TRAKTOR's software Decks can have three different Flavors, depending on the type of audio material you want them to handle: Track Deck , Remix Deck or Live Input . ▪ By default, Decks A and B are Track Decks when TRAKTOR is configured for use with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.[...]

The Decks on Your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 The two Decks on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 allow you to control all four Decks in TRAK- TOR: ▪ The left Deck on your S4 can control both Decks on the left of the TRAKTOR window: the upper Deck A and the lower Deck C. ▪ The right Deck on your S4 can control both Decks on the right of the TRAKTOR window: the upp[...]

► To access the secondary function of any control element, hold SHIFT depressed when us- ing that control element. ▪ For the Deck and FX Unit control elements, SHIFT operates locally, which means that you cannot use the SHIFT button on the opposite side of your S4 to access the secondary functions of a Deck or FX Unit. ▪ For the Mixer, the SH[...]

[...]

▪ DECK C (or DECK D) indicator : lights up in white when the Deck on your S4 is focused on the lower Deck (Deck C on the left, Deck D on the right) in TRAKTOR. ▪ KEYLOCK indicator : lights up when the Keylock is active on that Deck. Note that Keylock can be activated on Track Decks only. For more info on the Keylock feature of TRAKTOR, please r[...]

► By pressing SHIFT + LOAD , you unload the track from the Deck. You will find more info on browsing and loading in section ↑ 6.7.1, Browsing Tracks and Sam- ples . Moreover, the LOAD button lights up when you push the jog wheel’s top plate (e.g. for scratch- ing, see ↑ 6.3.6, Jog Wheel ). The LOAD button can be switched to an alternate ass[...]

▪ Tempo bending : By spinning the jog wheel’s outer rim, you temporarily raise or lower the Deck tempo. When you stop spinning the rim, the Deck tempo returns to its original val- ue. ▪ Scratch : By pressing and spinning the jog wheel’s top plate, you fully take over manual control for cueing up a beat, back spinning or for scratching. Also[...]

The TEMPO fader controls the tempo of the focused Deck: Pulling the TEMPO fader down- wards/upwards increases/decreases the tempo, respectively. By default, the range of the TEM- PO fader is ±6 %.The TEMPO fader's range can be adjusted in two ways: To narrow the range: ► Press SHIFT + FLUX buttons → The Tempo Range is reduced to a minim o[...]

Absolute Mode By default, the TEMPO fader is in Absolute mode. In this mode, whenever you move the TEM- PO fader on your S4, its position is transmitted 1:1 to the tempo fader on the software Deck— which in the end controls the tempo of the software Deck. Therefore, the software Deck’s tempo matches the TEMPO fader position on your S4, unless y[...]

LOOP IN and LOOP OUT Buttons The LOOP IN and LOOP OUT buttons The LOOP IN and LOOP OUT buttons allow you to manually define a Floating Loop in the play- ing Track Deck / Remix Deck. Pressing the LOOP IN button sets a Floating Cue Point at the current playback position. This Floating Cue Point will serve as Loop In Point as soon as you press the LOO[...]

Loop MOVE Encoder The Loop MOVE encoder. The Loop MOVE encoder allows you to activate/deactivate looping, move the Loop and jump in the track: Loop MOVE encoder No Loop active Loop active Turn Beatjumps by the current loop size (as displayed in the Loop Size Display). Moves the Loop by the current loop size (as displayed in the Loop Size Display). [...]

Loop SIZE encoder No Loop active Loop active Turn Selects a loop size (in beats) for the next Floating Loop that you will set. The se- lected loop size is displayed in the Loop Size Display above the encoder. Halves/doubles the Loop’s size. Push Sets and activates a new Floating Loop at the current playback position with the selected loop size. D[...]

If you don’t want to use Samples at all, or if you don’t want to mix Track Deck controls and Remix Deck controls, you can activate alternate functions for these Sample Play buttons in Preferences > Traktor KONTROL S4 > S4 Control Options . For example, they can be used as Beatjump buttons or as additional Hotcue buttons. Please refer to s[...]

The Remix Slot now lights up dimmed to indicate that the Sample is loaded but not audible, because it is either muted or stopped. To tell whether the Sample is stopped or muted, have a look at the TRAKTOR software: If the Sample is muted, its waveform in the Sample Slot is dimmed, while the lit/unlit Sam- ple Play button indicates whether or not th[...]

The Remix Deck C with the Advanced Panel on bottom. On the lower right you can see the cursor pointing on the Play Type button, which switches the Sample Cell from One-shot to Loop mode and vice versa. ► Click on the Play Type button in the lower right of the Advanced Panel (see screenshot above) to switch the Sample to One-shot mode if you wish.[...]

Unloading a Sample You can clear a Sample Cell by pressing SHIFT + Remix Slot button. The button’s LED turns off. More Controls over the Samples By default, the Samples are loaded and played on the lower Remix Deck — Deck C on the left and Deck D on the right. The Remix Slot buttons represent the Sample Cells inside the Sample Slot of the Remix[...]

Hotcue button Hotcue slot’s state Unlit Empty Hotcue slot. Blue Hotcue slot contains a Cue Point. Green Yellow Orange White Hotcue slot contains a Loop. Hotcue slot contains a Load Marker Hotcue slot contains a Fade-In or Fade-Out Marker. Hotcue slot contains a Grid Marker. Storing a Cue Point or a Loop into a Hotcue Slot You can directly store t[...]

Hotcue Buttons in a Remix Deck Context If the Deck in focus is a Remix Deck, the RGB Hotcue buttons function in the following way: ► Pressing a Hotcue button will trigger the Sample Cell to play. → The Hotcue button illuminates. ► Pressing a Hotcue button on a playing sample will mute the Remix Slot. → The Sample continues to play but is mu[...]

The Hotcue Buttons drop-down menu from the Preferences. The Hoctcue Buttons preference for the S4 affects the REMIX SLOTS functionality differently depending on which mode you select: ▪ Legacy Mode : In Legacy mode, the REMIX SLOTS buttons function as follows: ◦ Pressing an unlit REMIX SLOTS button will capture a Sample from the capture source [...]

◦ Pressing an unlit REMIX SLOTS button will capture a Sample from the capture source Deck / start playback/ retrigger playback. ◦ Pressing SHIFT + a REMIX SLOTS button will activate the next Sample Cell in the Sample Slot. 6.3.11 PLAY and CUE Buttons The CUE and PLAY buttons. At the bottom of the Deck, the PLAY and CUE buttons are the usual tra[...]

6.3.12 SYNC Button The SYNC button. The SYNC button activates/deactivates the synchronization of the Deck to the current tempo master (another Deck or the Clock). The button is lit when synchronization is activated. Activating the synchronization disables the TEMPO fader if it is in the default Absolute mode. See section ↑ 6.3.7, Tempo Fader for [...]

If you can’t match the beats with this method, most likely also the tempo of the Beatgrid has been wrongly detected. In this case proceed as follows to set a correct tempo: 1. Play the track in Deck A (turn off SYNC ). 2. Tap the SHIFT button repeatedly (at least 5 times) to the beat of the music. In this proce- dure you must try to be very preci[...]

6.4 The Mixer The Mixer, in the middle of your S4. This section describes the general handling of the Mixer on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. You will find in ↑ 12.2, Remix Deck Quick Reference a Quick Reference table summing up the basic functionality of each control element on the Mixer. Hardware Reference The Mixer Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 131[...]

6.4.1 Mixer Overview The Mixer is equipped with four channels, each of them controlling the signal coming from one particular Deck: channel A, B, C, and D control the signals coming from Deck A, B, C, and D, respectively. Thanks to the logical layout of the channels on the Mixer, you can quickly see what goes where: ▪ Channels on the left (A and [...]

Adjust the MAIN knob in TRAKTOR’s Master panel so that the values on your S4’s MAIN LEVEL meters stay in the upper part of the blue areas without reaching the orange clipping LEDs. When the orange clipping LEDs light up, turning down the MAIN LEVEL knob on your S4 is of no use: indeed, changing the level of the already distorted or shrinked sig[...]

The channels and the crossfader make up the core of the mixing scheme. Signal Flow As a rule of thumb: the signal coming from a Deck arrives at the top of the channel ( GAIN en- coder) and goes down to the bottom (channel fader). The only exception to that rule is the pair of FX Assign buttons: although they are sitting right under the GAIN encoder[...]

For the FX Unit assignment , press the left or right button to assign this channel to the FX Unit 1 or 2, respectively. The button lights up when the channel is routed to the corresponding FX Unit. When activating both buttons on the same channel, FX Unit 1 and FX Unit 2 will process the channel’s signal in series. For a description of the FX Uni[...]

Each channel boards an EQ section with the three usual knobs HI , MID and LOW for controlling high, medium and low frequency content of the signal, respectively. ► Turn each EQ knob clockwise to emphasize the corresponding frequency band, and coun- terclockwise to attenuate this band. At center detent position, the knob does not alter the signal.[...]

In Browse mode, the Headphones Cue button is used to load the selected track on to the corresponding Deck (Track Decks only). See section ↑ 6.7, Browsing, Loading and Copying for more info on the Browse mode. Deck Assignment Indicator The Deck Assignment indicator on channel A. The Deck Assignment indicator (labeled A, B, C, or D) shows which sof[...]

To correct the channel level, adjust the GAIN encoder at the very top of the channel. For more info on how to set your levels correctly, see the tutorial in section ↑ 4.3, Adjusting Levels . Crossfader Assignment Indicator The Crossfader Assignment indicator. The Crossfader Assignment indicator shows you the side of the crossfader the channel is [...]

If you rather use the channel faders instead of the crossfader for mixing, you can deactivate the crossfader in order to avoid unwanted level inconsistencies between channels. To do this, deactivate all crossfader assignments by SHIFT-pressing the corresponding FX Assign buttons. You can customize the fading curve of the Crossfader in Preferences &[...]

USB Indicator The USB indicator. The USB indicator gives you information about the status of the USB connection between your S4 and your computer. The indicator should be continuously lit. If it flashes, there is no con- nection to the computer or a problem with the driver. ► Check that the USB indicator is continuously lit before going any furth[...]

While a track or Sample is loaded into the Preview Player, holding the PREVIEW button and turning the BROWSE encoder serves as seek control. You can load this track or Sample as usu- al, depending on whether you are using Quick Loading (see above) or Browse mode (see be- low). Pushing the PREVIEW button while an item is loaded into the Preview Play[...]

Clock Master Button and Indicator (MASTER) The Clock Master button and indicator. The Clock Master button allows you to set TRAKTOR’s Clock as tempo master. When the Clock is set as tempo master, both the button and the indicator light up. For more info on the whole synchronization concept in TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, please re- fer to the tutorial in [...]

6.4.5 The BROWSE Encoder The BROWSE encoder. The BROWSE encoder is used to browse and copy tracks or Samples in TRAKTOR KON- TROL S4. You will find a description of these control elements in section ↑ 6.7, Browsing, Loading and Copying . 6.5 The FX Units The FX Units 1 and 2 on your S4 allow you to control the FX Units in TRAKTOR. All controls of[...]

▪ (5) FX Knob 3 ▪ (6) FX Button 1 ▪ (7) FX Button 2 ▪ (8) FX Button 3 ▪ (9) FX Mode button (MODE) 6.5.1 Single Mode and Group Mode In TRAKTOR, each FX Unit can work in two different modes: ▪ Group mode : Each FX Unit boards three different FX chained in series. Each FX can be controlled by one knob and one button. ▪ Single mode : Each[...]

Control element Single mode Group mode FX Button 1-3 FX Button 1: resets all FX parameters to their default value. FX Buttons 2 and 3: FX-dependent (lit when activated). SHIFT + button: loads a predefined FX (as set in Preferences > Traktor KON- TROL S4 > S4 Control Options > Direct FX 1-3 ). Activates/deactivates FX slot 1-3 (lit when slo[...]

The Loop Recorder on your S4. The recording source for the Loop Recorder can be selected via the Loop Recorder’s Source menu in TRAKTOR. Please refer to the TRAKTOR 2 Manual for more info. You will find in ↑ 12.4, FX Unit Quick Reference a Quick Reference table summing up the basic functionality of each control element on the Loop Recorder. 6.6[...]

► Press SIZE repeatedly to select the desired loop size. The selected loop size cannot be seen on your S4; for this, you have to look at the Loop Re- corder in the TRAKTOR window on your computer screen. 6.6.3 REC Button The REC button starts/stops recording a loop or additional overdub layers. If no loop has been recorded yet, pressing the REC b[...]

6.6.5 PLAY Button The PLAY button starts/stops the playback of the Loop Recorder—provided of course that something has been recorded into it. When playback is stopped, the playback position skips back to the loop beginning. Playback is also automatically triggered while overdubbing: the currently recorded material is played while a new layer is b[...]

You will find in ↑ 12.5, Loop Recorder Quick Reference a Quick Reference table summing up the basic functionality of each control element needed for browsing, loading and copy- ing. 6.7.1 Browsing Tracks and Samples Quick Loading Tracks and Samples You can quickly select tracks and Samples for loading via the BROWSE encoder, located at the top of[...]

► To load the selected track or Sample, press LOAD on the desired Deck: If the focus is on a Remix Deck, the Sample will be loaded into the first empty Sample Slot. Only audio with a maximum length of 48 seconds can be loaded into Sample Slots. For Samples, you can also press SHIFT + the Sample Play button of an empty Sample Slot to load the sele[...]

► Press a flashing target to load the selected track or Sample. After a target has been selected, the Browse mode stays active, allowing you to load items to other locations (Track Decks or Sample Slots). ► When you are finished, press the BROWSE Encoder again to deactivate the Browse mode. While in Browse mode, you cannot control the Decks. 6.[...]

If the Loop Recorder’s PLAY button is not selected as source, it stops flashing because it can- not be selected as target. ► Press a target to select it. → The source is copied to the target. Copying a track triggers a track duplicate so that the track is loaded on to the target Deck playing from the same position as the source Deck. After a [...]

▪ (3) MAIN OUT section : Sockets for connecting the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 to your main mixer or amplification system. See section ↑ 6.8.1, MAIN OUT Section below. ▪ (4) INPUT CHANNEL B section : See section ↑ 6.8.2, INPUT CHANNEL B Section below. ▪ (5) MIC Section : See section ↑ 6.8.3, MIC Section . ▪ (6) INPUT CHANNEL A section : See s[...]

▪ (2) Main/Booth Outputs 1/2 1/4" sockets (1/2) : main outputs of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 (line level, balanced). Use these sockets to connect your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 to an amplification system (or master mixer) with balanced inputs. ▪ (3) LEVEL knob : sets an independent Booth volume level for the ¼” outputs when the MAIN/BOOTH switch is se[...]

6.8.3 MIC Section ▪ Microphone Gain knob (GAIN) : Adjust here the input gain for the connected microphone (see below). ▪ (6) Microphone socket (MIC) : Connect your microphone here. 6.8.4 INPUT CHANNEL A Section The INPUT CHANNEL A section allows you to route external signals to the TRAKTOR software. The INPUT CHANNEL C section on the rear panel[...]

The POWER section on the rear panel. ▪ (1) USB socket : Connect here your S4 to your computer with the included USB cable. ▪ (2) Power Supply connector : Connect here the power cord. ▪ (3) ON/OFF switch : Engage the switch to turn on your device. 6.9 The Front Panel This section describes all sockets and controls available on the front panel [...]

The front panel of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. ▪ (1) Headphones socket (PHONES) : Cue channel stereo output (jack 1/4"). Connect your headphones here. ▪ (2) Headphones Volume knob (CUE VOL) : Adjusts the volume in your headphones. ▪ (3) Headphones Mix knob (CUE MIX) : Adjusts the mix between master output and cue channel in your headphones. [...]

In Native Traktor mode, your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 will communicate directly with TRAK- TOR over USB using the Native Instruments proprietary NHL protocol, which features high res- olution translation of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 knobs superior to MIDI. 6.10.2 MIDI Mode The MIDI mode allows you to use your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 as a normal MIDI controller. [...]

When your S4 is in MIDI Mode, the two Loop Displays will show 'ON'. To customize the S4’s MIDI properties, such as MIDI channel or CC numbers of its individual controls, Native Instruments has included the Controller Editor. The Controller Editor should have been installed during the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 installation procedure. If you can[...]

7 Customizing TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is a highly customizable DJ system. Many of its features can be modi- fied so that it best suits your preferred way of DJing: customizable features include audio con- figuration, Decks, Mixer, transport controls, overall software layout, FX, Browser, file manage- ment, to mention a few. Since the [...]

The list of available pages at the left of the Preferences window. 1. To display a particular page of settings, click on the page name in the left column. 2. Adjust the settings according to your needs. 3. Once you have modified the desired settings, click Close at the bottom of the Preferences window to confirm your modifications or on Cancel to d[...]

For a detailed description of all settings available in the Preferences window, please refer to the TRAKTOR 2 Manual. In the Preferences window, the settings for the S4 have their dedicated page, judiciously called Traktor KONTROL S4. ► In the Preferences window, click Traktor KONTROL S4 at the bottom of the left column to display the page of set[...]

In this page, settings are grouped into four sections: S4 Control Options, Restore Default, Cali- bration and LEDs. 7.3 S4 Control Options On the Traktor KONTROL S4 page of the Preferences, the S4 Control Options section allows you to adjust the way your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller reacts to your actions. The fol- lowing paragraphs thoroughly des[...]

The Direct FX 1-3 settings. Reminder: In Single mode, press SHIFT + FX Button 1, SHIFT + FX Button 2 or SHIFT + FX Button 3 to load the selected Direct FX into the corresponding FX slot. In Group mode, press SHIFT + FX On to load all three Direct FX into their respective FX slots. Sample Play Buttons The Sample Play Buttons menu lets you choose alt[...]

Hotcue Buttons The Hotcue Buttons menu lets you choose between a Legacy mode, where the Hotcue buttons behave as with TRAKTOR's former Sample Decks, and a Remix mode, where there was new functionality added to control TRAKTOR's Remix Decks. This setting is only relevant in a Remix Deck context, i.e., when the Deck is set to control a Remi[...]

◦ When a Loop is active, holding one of these buttons while spinning the jog wheel al- lows you to move the corresponding Loop In Point or Loop Out Point. ▪ Auto Loop : When this option is selected, the buttons have auto looping functions: ◦ When no Loop is active, the LOOP IN and LOOP OUT buttons set and activate a 4- beat and an 8-beat Floa[...]

it also allows you to go beyond this range and change the Deck tempo within ±100 % while preserving the current fader accuracy (as defined by the range set in Preferen- ces > Transport > Tempo). Obviously, beyond the range of the software tempo fader, this fader does not represent the Deck tempo anymore. By moving the software fader with you[...]

Jog Wheel The Disable Jog Wheel Push option will defeat the touch-sensitivity of the KONTROL S4 jog wheels when checked. If this option is checked, you will not be able to perform normal scratching techniques because TRAKTOR will no longer check if you’re pressing the jog wheel or not. The wheel will then behave as a pitch bend at all times (like[...]

7.3.2 Calibration The Calibration section allows you to perform the calibration for various knobs, faders, and jog wheels on your S4 in order to correct potential inaccuracies of both center position (for the knobs) and range of the control elements. The Calibration section. The calibration can be done separately for four groups of control elements[...]

7.4.1 Switching the Deck Flavors As explained in section ↑ 6.1.1, Decks , all Decks can be individually switched between differ- ent Flavors: Track Deck, Remix Deck or Live Input. This is done in the Decks page of the Preferences via the two lower menus in the Deck Flavor section: The Deck Flavor section allows you to select another Flavor for ea[...]

Using the Setup Wizard When setting up TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, the easiest way is to start the Setup Wizard. This allows you to choose from a set of basic Deck configurations and to forget about any audio routing settings—these will be automatically configured according to the selected Deck config- uration! Bear in mind, though, that the Setup Wizard[...]

Input Routing page in the Preferences panel. In this page, you can choose the physical inputs to be used for each virtual input channel in TRAKTOR. For example, let’s say that you are currently using the default Deck configuration (two Track Decks and two Remix Decks) and want to use an external audio source plugged on channel D. Here is the way [...]

3. Click Close at the bottom of the window to confirm your modifications. → Your external audio source is now sent to Deck D, which acts as Live Input and forwards the signal to channel D on the Mixer. 7.4.3 Using Four FX Units TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with a total of four FX Units. By default, the first two FX Units are activated. You can[...]

Due to the different FX routing scheme, the FX Assign buttons work differently: FX Assign button Function with four FX Units FX Assign 1 Channel A: Assigns the channel to FX Unit 1. Channel B: unused. Channel C: Assigns the channel to FX Unit 3. Channel D: unused. FX Assign 2 Channel A: unused. Channel B: Assigns the channel to FX Unit 2. Channel C[...]

► Select Start Setup Wizard in the Help menu of the Application Menu Bar (to see this bar, Fullscreen mode must be deactivated). ► Or click the Setup Wizard button at the bottom left corner of the Preferences window. Setup Wizard Walk-through Let's walk you through the S4 configuration using the Setup Wizard: 1. On the welcome screen, clic[...]

→ TRAKTOR starts with the selected settings and a matching interface layout, e.g., if you selected to use an external DJ mixer, TRAKTOR's software mixer will be hidden. You can always change the Layout of the user interface with the Layout selection menu in TRAK- TOR's header. To change the Deck Flavors, click on the Deck letter in a De[...]

8 The S4 Audio Interface and Control Panel Your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is equipped with a high-end 24-bit/96 kHz audio interface. You can adjust the audio interface settings to your needs and computer performance. Depending on whether you work on Windows or Mac OS X, you can adjust these settings in dif- ferent ways. 8.1 Settings on Mac OS X On Mac OS [...]

When converting audio information to digital and vice versa, the audio driver needs to store the data in buffer packages (audio buffers) which are then sent to and processed by the CPU. The higher the buffer size, the longer it takes for a signal to finally arrive at the out- put as audio. You might experience this as late response in between hitti[...]

If you cannot find the Control Panel, the driver is most likely not installed at all. In this case, please re-install the driver as described in the separate Setup Guide. Here is what you get when opening the Control Panel: The Control Panel. On the left side, you find two tabs: Audio Settings and Diagnostics . ► Click on the tabs at the left to [...]

The Control Panel with Audio Settings page opened. The Audio Settings page consists of two sections: ▪ Audio Processing : settings for the analog-to-digital/digital-to-analog conversion done by your audio interface. ▪ Device Monitor : displays information about the audio interface's processing status and your system's output latency. [...]

▪ Process Buffer : Lower the buffer size value for a quicker response of your computer to TRAKTOR controller and software actions. When converting audio information to digital and vice versa, the audio driver needs to store the data in buffer packages (audio buffers) which are then sent to and processed by the CPU. The higher the buffer size, the[...]

8.2.3 Diagnostics Page The Diagnostics page allows for monitoring the controller’s performance and for detecting er- rors. The Control Panel with Diagnostics page opened. The information provided in the Diagnostics page might be more of interest to advanced users; however, in case of problems, you should always have a look at this page. The Diagn[...]

Drop-Out Detection Section The Drop-Out Detection section holds two displays and a button: ▪ USB I/O Errors : counts USB input/output errors. A high USB I/O Errors count points to your system being overloaded. ▪ Buffer Underruns : Buffer underruns occur when your computer isn’t able to process an audio buffer in time. Reasons for underruns ca[...]

setting in the options or preferences of your music applications allowing you to select the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 as audio interface. For more info, please refer to the documentation of your music applications. 8.4 Using the S4 as your Default Audio Interface If you want to use the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 for playback of all audio applications on your comp[...]

9 Troubleshooting and Help This chapter covers the most common issues. Most of what can go wrong when setting up and using TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 should be listed here along with some tried-and-tested ways to solve these issues. 9.1 TRAKTOR Won’t Start 1. Check the system requirements for TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. The minimum requirements are the very leas[...]

9.2.2 USB and Driver Issues Once your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is connected and turned on, wait a few seconds and give a look at the USB indicator located in the Master Display, in the middle of your device: The USB indicator in the Master Display. If the USB indicator is flashing, there is no connection to the computer or there is a problem with the dri[...]

▪ If you do not know whether or not you have previously installed the drivers of the TRAK- TOR KONTROL S4 to your computer, it is advisable to start again the stand-alone installa- tion (setup) program of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 available on the TRAKTOR KON- TROL S4 installation disc. If the setup program states that it will first uninstall the dr[...]

9.2.5 Using the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 with a Laptop Please check if your computer is suited for handling real-time audio processing without drop- outs. The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Control Panel provides you with a useful tool to achieve this. See chapter ↑ 8.2.2, Audio Settings Page for more info. In general, it is not recommended to use laptops with sha[...]

Once the plate has clicked back into place, it should be securely fastened to the unit. If it is still loose, try running through the procedure again. Although it may not be necessary for opti- mum use, we recommend recalibrating your jog wheels after detaching and reattaching the jog wheel top plate. For further details on jog wheel calibration, p[...]

When communicating with the Native Instruments support team, keep in mind that the more details you can provide about your hardware, your operating system, the version of the software you are running, and the problem you are experiencing, the better they will be able to help you. In your description, you should mention: ▪ How to reproduce the pro[...]

10 Appendix A – Common Setups This appendix shows you how to connect your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 with your other gears in various setups. For a reference of each socket or control element to be found on the rear and front panel of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, please refer to section ↑ 6.8, The Rear Panel and ↑ 6.9, The Front Panel , respectively. It g[...]

Connect the Power Supply 1. Connect the included power supply to a power outlet using the appropriate adapter for your region. 2. Connect the power cord plug to the Power Supply connector (labeled POWER) on the rear panel of your S4. Appendix A – Common Setups TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Basic Setup Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 192[...]

We strongly recommend you to use an external power supply with your S4 via the included power supply unit. Although operation is also possible when your S4 is powered via the USB connection, you then have following limitations: the headphones output level is lower, and all LEDs light darker. Moreover, your device might then be subject to USB power-[...]

► Connect one end of the included USB 2.0 cable to the USB socket on the rear panel of your S4, and the other end to an available USB 2.0 port on your computer. The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is a USB 2.0 device and will not work on a USB 1.0/1.1 port. If possible, do always use the USB cable provided with the S2 box to operate your unit. Longer or lower[...]

Turn Down All Volume Controls ► Before you plug any audio cable, make sure to turn down all volume controls, both on your S4 and on your amplification system. This will avoid any possible audio artifacts that could damage your speakers and your ears! Connect the Main Outputs to Your Amplification System ► On the rear panel of your S4, connect t[...]

Connect your Headphones to the PHONES Socket (Front Panel) ► On the front panel of your S4, plug your headphones into the Headphones socket (PHONES). Before putting on headphones, always make sure the headphone volume knob ( CUE VOL ) is set to minimum! To set the headphone volume to minimum, turn the CUE VOL knob counter- clockwise until it reac[...]

Turn On Your S4 ► On the rear panel of your S4, engage the ON/OFF switch to turn on the device. → Look at the top panel of your controller: after a quick LED animation, the USB indicator in the Master Display might flash for a few seconds, then it should stay lit. This confirms that your S4 is correctly recognized by your computer. If the USB i[...]

1. Open the Preferences window by clicking on the Preferences button in TRAKTOR’s Head- er: 2. Go to Preferences > Decks > Deck Flavor and select Remix Deck in the C and D menus: 3. Click Close at the bottom of the Preferences window to confirm your modifications. Notes ▪ The MAIN LEVEL knob and meters at the top middle of your S4’s top[...]

Before you proceed, please follow the steps for the basic setup described in section ↑ 10.1, TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Basic Setup . Connect Your Microphone to the MIC Socket The MIC socket and its dedicated GAIN knob. On the rear panel of your S4, plug your microphone into the Microphone socket ( MIC ). Before you connect your microphone, make sure tha[...]

socket (MIC) on your S4 until the level meters on your screen show a satisfying level (to adjust the microphone input gain, you can follow the guidelines described in section ↑ 4.3, Adjusting Levels ). 4. When the meters show a satisfying level, click Close at the bottom of the Preferences win- dow to confirm your modifications. For more info on [...]

▪ By having assigned the microphone signal to the Aux channel, you still have four internal Decks at your disposal (Track Decks or Remix Decks). 10.3 Using a Master Mixer In some situations, you might want to use other audio devices independently from the TRAK- TOR KONTROL S4 system, like an additional setup with turntables and mixer. A solution [...]

Control via timecode vinyls/CDs (Scratch Control) is not available in TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 yet. ► Starting from the basic setup, we will connect the audio sources to both stereo input channels on your S4 and configure the required settings accordingly. Before you proceed, please follow the steps for the basic setup described in section ↑ 10.1, TR[...]

Set the LINE/PHONO Switch to PHONO The LINE/PHONO switch. ► On the INPUT CHANNEL B , set the LINE / PHONO switch to PHONO . Set the Input Routing and Deck Flavors in TRAKTOR Instead of setting the input routing options and Deck Flavors manually as described here, you can also use the Setup Wizard: choose 2 Track Decks + 2 Live Inputs in the menu,[...]

4. Go to Preferences > Decks > Deck Flavor and select Live Input in the A and B menus. 5. Click Close at the bottom of the Preferences window to confirm your modifications. → Deck A and B will now transmit the signals coming from your external audio sources to channel A and B on the Mixer, respectively. For more info on the input routing, s[...]

11 Appendix B – Technical Information You will find here the technical specifications and the block diagram for the audio interface of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. 11.1 Technical Specifications Jacks and Sockets ▪ 4 input jacks ( IN 1/2 and IN 3/4) for mono RCA plugs ▪ 1 input jack ( MIC ) for mono 6.3 mm (1/4 inch) phone plug ▪ 2 output jacks [...]

Line Inputs Cross talk -111 dB Full scale level +12.4 dB DNR (a-weighted) 98.3 dBu THD+N 0.05 % Frequency response ±0.5 dB 20 Hz – 40 kHz Microphone Input Full scale level @ 1 kHz -31.3 dBu DNR (a-weighted) @ 1 kHz 85.7 dB THD+N @ 1 kHz 0.04 % Frequency response ±1.67 dBu 20 Hz – 240 kHz Phono Inputs Input impedance 47 kΩ Full scale level @[...]

Audio Outputs (D/A) Bit resolution 16, 24 Converter Cirrus Logic Line Outputs (1/4'' TRS balanced) Max output level +18 dBu DNR (a-weighted) 105 dBu THD+N@1kHz 0.003 % Frequency response ±0.35 dBu 20 Hz – 40 kHz Crosstalk @ 1kHz 111 dBu Line Outputs (RCA unbalanced) Max output level +12 dBu DNR (a-weighted) 105 dBu THD+N@1kHz 0.002 % F[...]

Headphones Outputs THD+N@1kHz 0.013 % Frequency response ±1 dBu Crosstalk@1kHz 20 Hz – 240 kHz -111dB Power Supply ▪ In: 100-240V - 60/50Hz - 0.4A ▪ Out: 15V 1200mA 10.8VA Dimensions and Weight ▪ Depth: 33.8 cm ▪ Height: 7.22cm ▪ Width: 50cm ▪ Weight: 3.4kg Environmental Specifications ▪ Operating temperature : +5 to +35 °C (41 to[...]

12 Appendix C – Quick References This appendix provides you with you Quick Reference tables summing up the basic functionali- ty of each control element on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. This gives you a quick and con- cise overview of all basic functions of your controller. For more info on each control element, please refer to the descriptions in cha[...]

Control element Function DECK C or DECK D indicator Lit when your S4 Deck is focused on the lower Deck (Deck C or Deck D). KEYLOCK indicator Lit when Keylock is active. MASTER indicator Lit when the Deck is the tempo master. Loop Size Display Shows the loop size selected via the Loop SIZE encoder. TEMPO fader Increases/decreases Deck tempo. Hold SH[...]

Control element Function Loop SIZE encoder Push: activates/deactivates looping. Activating looping automatically sets a Floating Loop at current playback position with the selected loop size. Turn (no active Loop): selects a loop size (in beats) for the next Floating Loop that will be set. The selected loop size is displayed in the Loop SIZE Displa[...]

Control element Function CUE button Deck playing: jumps to Floating Cue Point and stops playback. Deck paused: sets a new Floating Cue Point. Track is played back from that Floating Cue Point as long as CUE is held depressed. Upon release, play- back stops and jumps back to Floating Cue Point. SHIFT + CUE : skips back to start of track (playback st[...]

Control element Function ON AIR indicator Lit when the Deck is audible on the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 main output. REMIX indicator Lit (showing that this Deck is a Remix Deck). DECK A or DECK B indica- tor Unlit. DECK C or DECK D indica- tor Lit (showing that your S4 Deck is focused on the lower Deck C or D in TRAK- TOR). KEYLOCK indicator Not used (no [...]

Control element Function Loop MOVE encoder In Remix mode Push: activates/deactivates looping. Loop active: Loop move controls. Turn to move the Loop by the selected loop size (as displayed in the Loop Size Display). SHIFT + turn to move the Loop by 1-beat steps. No Loop active: Beatjump controls. Turn to jump by the selected loop size (as displayed[...]

Control element Function REMIX SLOTS buttons Unlit: empty Sample Slot. Press to load a Sample from the capture source at current playback position (if playback is within an active Loop, the Loop is cop- ied). Press SHIFT + button to load the Sample selected in the Playlist. Dimmed: Sample loaded but stopped or muted. Lit: Sample playing. Sample in [...]

Control element Function CUE button Stopped Samples: Press & hold to trigger Sample Slots. Upon release, playback stops and skips back to start. Playing Samples: Press to retrigger Samples.* SYNC button Re-synchronizes Samples in Looped mode with the current tempo master. * SHIFT button Press and hold: gives access to secondary functions of oth[...]

12.3.2 Channel and Crossfader Quick Reference Control element Function GAIN encoder Turn: adjusts input gain level for that channel. Push: resets input gain level to 0 dB. FX Assign buttons 1 and 2 Normal: assigns the channel to FX Unit 1 and 2, respectively. (For use with four FX Units, see detailed description.) SHIFT : assigns the channel to the[...]

12.3.3 Master Display Quick Reference Control element Function Alert indicator Flashes when there is something wrong: Main Volume knob or Head- phones Volume knob too low in the software, CPU load too high, laptop power supply disconnected. USB indicator Lit if the driver is up and running. Flashing if there is no connection to the computer or a pr[...]

Control element Single mode Group mode FX Button 1 - 3 FX Button 1 : resets all FX parameters to their default value. FX Buttons 2 and 3 : FX-dependent (lit when activated). SHIFT + button: loads a predefined FX (as set in Preferences > Traktor KON- TROL S4 > S4 Control Options > Direct FX 1-3 ). Activates/deactivates FX slot 1-3 (lit when[...]

12.6 Browsing, Loading and Copying Quick Reference See section ↑ 6.7, Browsing, Loading and Copying for more details on these control ele- ments. Control element Function BROWSE encoder Turn: scrolls through the Playlist. SHIFT + turn: scrolls through the Favorites. Push: loads/unloads selected item in the Preview Player. When an item is load- ed[...]

Index A Absolute (prefs) [166] Absolute mode [117] Adjusting levels [40] Alert indicator [139] Aligning tracks [35] Analysis [20] [67] Assigning FX to channels [57] [135] Audience [41] Audio input [99] [110] Audio interface [177] Audio Processing (Control Panel) [180] Audio Settings (Control Panel) [180] AUTO button [68] Auto Loop (prefs) [166] Aut[...]

C Calibration [169] CD deck [201] Changing the size of a Loop [45] Channel [18] [28] [101] [134] Crossfader Assignment indicator [138] CUE button [33] [37] [136] Deck Assignment indicator [137] fader [30] [41] [137] FILTER knob [30] [136] FX Assign buttons [58] [134] GAIN encoder [30] [41] [134] HI knob [30] [136] LOW knob [30] [136] meter [30] [41[...]

CUE MIX knob [31] [33] [37] [157] Cue Points Floating Cue Point [118] setting and storing [34] storing [125] CUE VOL knob [31] [157] Cueing [34] [44] Cueing a track in the Browser [31] [140] Customizing TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 [160] D Deactivating looping [47] Deck [17] [96] flavor [99] [109] [170] focus [110] [111] overview [108] DECK A indicator [26] [...]

Displays [107] Distortion [41] [43] Documentation [11] Driver issues [186] Drop-Out Detection (Control Panel) [183] DRY/WET knob (FX Unit) [57] [60] DRY/WET knob (Loop Recorder) [62] [146] Dynamic range [40] E Effects [18] [55] [101] Encoders [105] EQs [30] [42] [136] using when mixing in a track [36] External audio input [99] [110] F Faders [107] [...]

FX Knobs 1-3 [58] [60] FX On button [57] [59] FX Unit [18] [42] [55] [101] Assigning to channels [57] [135] controlling [58] DRY/WET knob [57] [60] FX Buttons 1-3 [57] [60] FX Knobs 1-3 [58] [60] FX On button [57] [59] Group mode [56] [144] MODE button [56] [59] Quick Reference [218] reference [143] Single mode [59] [144] snapshot [60] using four F[...]

I Importing music [19] Importing your music [67] Indicators [107] Information (Control Panel) [183] INPUT CHANNEL C section [155] INPUT CHANNEL D section [154] Input routing [170] iTunes [21] J Jog mode [167] Jog wheel [106] on Remix Decks [55] on Track Decks [38] [114] outer rim [39] top plate [39] K Kensington lock slot [152] Key Functions Using [...]

Loop Buttons (prefs) [165] LOOP IN button on Track Decks [45] [118] Loop mode [51] Loop MOVE encoder on Track Decks [46] [47] [119] LOOP OUT button on Track Decks [45] [118] Loop Out Point [118] Loop Recorder [60] [102] adjusting the loop size [62] deleting a recorded loop [64] DRY/WET knob [62] [146] overdubbing [65] [147] PLAY button [63] [148] Q[...]

M MAIN knob (software) [30] Main level [42] MAIN LEVEL knob [30] MAIN LEVEL meters [30] MAIN OUT section [153] Main Outputs 1/2 [195] Main section [18] [42] [101] [132] Manual Looping (prefs) [165] Manually cueing [38] MASTER button and indicator [69] [70] [142] Master Display [34] [139] Alert indicator [139] MASTER button and indicator [69] [70] [[...]

O Offset manually correcting [39] ON AIR indicator [112] ON/OFF switch [156] [197] One-shot mode [51] [123] Online Support Form [189] Output Latency [181] Overdubbing [65] [147] Overview [16] P Phase offset (correcting) [39] PHONES socket [31] [157] [196] Pitch (tracks) [71] PLAY button (Deck) on Track Decks [28] [128] PLAY button (Loop Recorder) [[...]

Processing State (Control Panel) [181] Q QUANT button and indicator [35] [70] [142] Quantize mode [35] [70] [142] Quick Loading samples [122] [149] tracks [26] [149] Quick References [209] R Rear panel [152] INPUT CHANNEL C section [155] INPUT CHANNEL D section [154] MAIN OUT section [153] POWER section [155] REC button [63] [65] [147] Recalibratin[...]

Settings button (prefs) [178] Setup Guide [11] Setup Wizard [168] [174] SHIFT button [110] tapping [130] Signal flow in channels [134] Single mode [59] [144] SIZE button [63] [146] Skipping back to start of track [35] SNAP button and indicator [70] [141] SNAP indicator & button [34] Snap mode [34] [45] [53] [70] [141] Snapshot (FX Unit) [60] So[...]

T Technical Specs [205] Tempo adjusting manually [38] automatically adjusting (Sync) [33] Tempo bending on Track Decks [39] [115] TEMPO Fader [38] Absolute mode [117] Relative mode [166] Tempo Faders (prefs) [166] Tempo master [66] setting a Track Deck as [69] [70] [129] setting the Clock as [69] [70] Tempo Offset buttons (OFFSET) in Relative mode [...]